Today for Sites and Bites we’re exploring the historic part of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. We’ll be doing a walking tour of famous homes from the Summer of Love in Haight-Ashbury, and then a hearty Mediterranean lunch at the Blue Front Cafe on Haight street.

{Janis Joplin’s home on the left, Grateful Dead’s home on the right}

When my sisters Becca and Katrina were in town we had a fun time researching different celebrity homes from the 60s and driving around to see what they looked like today. Once we started we kept on looking up more homes on our phones and driving around all afternoon! It’s so interesting to get a more historic context of your city. Most of the famous homes are incredibly maintained and beautiful, where as others are empty lots (and understandably so-like the Peoples Temple aka Jonestown in the Fillmore).

{Jefferson Airplane practiced in this mansion above}

Haight Ashbury was the center of the 60s counter culture, and within a few block radius lived several famous icons from that era. Above, the pink house is where Janis Joplin lived, and the purple house is the Grateful Dead house (they’re a block away from each other). The very first image on the left is where Hells Angels lived, literally across the street from the Grateful Dead house. Jimi Hendrix had an apartment two blocks away on Haight and Jefferson Airplane was close by as well (the mansion above). Can you imagine living in that neighborhood in the late 60s? I would be fun to be transported back, just for a day and experience it all-er-some of it.

Right now, the neighborhood of Haight Ashbury is known for vintage/consignment shopping, music paraphernalia, and smoke shops, but not really for food. One day when Katrina was shopping on Haight she started asking around at the stores to find out where the employees liked to eat and they all recommended the same place: Blue Front Cafe. Since then we’ve returned a couple times. It was so good! It’s a Mediterranean cafe right on Haight with the most delicious wraps. We liked the greek chicken wrap with the yummiest tzatziki sauce on it! The chicken caesar wrap and homemade hummus are both really yummy too. Do you have a favorite spot to eat in Haight Ashbury? I’d love to hear your suggestions as well!

Keep reading for a full map of the Summer of Love walking tour and a list of the full addresses…

Here are the full addresses for your Summer of Love walking tour:
Janis Joplin: 635 Ashbury and also 112 Lyon
Grateful Dead: 710 Ashbury
Hells Angels:  719 Ashbury
Jimi Hendrix: 1524 Haight apartment
Charles Manson: 616 Page
Jefferson Airplane rehearsal spot: 2400 Fulton
Bonus (off map):
The real Full House house: 1709 Broderick

Blue Front Cafe: 1430 Haight Street